‘Winds of Winter’ Release Date: George R.R. Martin to finish Book this Year?

There have been multiple reports and updates on George R.R. Martin's next book, "Winds of Winter," the sixth book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" novel series. Based from recent updates from the 66-year-old author, fans are starting to believe that the book could be coming out this year.

Martin has told his fans that he was taking this year off from the HBO series, "Games of Thrones," which is based from his books, in order to write. He also confirmed that he canceled/skipped several events this year in order to focus on the book. With more time on his hands, "Winds of Winter" could be very close to completion.

Martin's most recent update on his blog, Not a Blog, revealed that he has plans to attend a wedding as well as plans to watch the Staten Island Yankees and Hudson Valley Renegades. He revealed that while he is away, his people would be working.

In the post, Martin wrote:

"And while I will be travelling, my army on minions will be here at the old homestead, toiling in the paper mines."

Many are speculating that "minions" is in reference to people who work in publishing where as the "paper mines" are the printers. Based from this update, many believe that "Winds of Winter" has already been completed. Fans are now hoping that the book could hit stores before the end of the year.

Martin also announced that he was skipping the World Fantasy Convention, which takes place in November in Saratoga. People speculate that he cannot attend this event because he is working on the final touches of his book.

Earlier rumors predicted that the book would be released early next year before the start of "Games of Thrones" Season 6. The only thing that fans know about the sixth book is that a major character's future will change drastically due to a plot twist. The twist will reportedly affect three or four other characters.